Tuesday, May 22, 2012

It is 3 a.m. and I am not sure if I am awake or dreaming. A loud bark from Africa confirms that I am indeed awake and this is not a dream, but maybe a nightmare. The husband is away and I think my biggest fear is about to occur.

Africa never barks unless there is a human on or near our property that is not expected or welcome. Typical night sounds, other dogs barking, or anything that usually provokes a dog to bark, does not inspire Africa to needless noise. This trait is fantastic because we all know how annoying barking can be.

It is this knowledge that made me to begin to shake and panic when I was awakened to very confidant barking coming from the main part of my house in the very dark, and early hours of the morning. It got worse when I realize that Africa is even more loud and running across the house towards the garage.

I grabbed my cell next to me and immediately dialed 911. I explained that I was alone, I had two young children, and my dog was barking uncontrollably which never happens. I asked the operator to just stay with me as I investigated. She was ready to send someone, but Africa stopped barking just as I opened my bedroom door.

I checked out the rest of the house and garage and of course didn't find anyone. I confess I am an extremely paranoid person especially after becoming a mom, but I know that if Africa is barking, there is a reason.

I still don't know what that was, if anything. I live in a very safe neighborhood and a community with a low crime rate, but know that anything can happen at anytime. A similar experience has happened once before 2 years ago. It also resulted in nothing, but the that kind of feeling of panic is never far away from my memory. My own personal theory is that if it was someone, without even seeing Africa, her very bark is aggressive enough that she would have scared someone away.

I can speculate and wonder forever, but the one thing I am sure of is that I have an incredible guard dog who was a hero on that night and probably other times I don't even know about.

It is scary out there, but a lot less scary when you have one of these.

We do not claim to be expert dog trainers, but we do feel that our experiences will be helpful and entertaining. We especially hope this is helpful as there is little info on training boerboels specifically. We recommend you read from the beginning for the full experience.